Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Bullet recovered: New Appreciation for the .270

I've hunted most of my life with a 30.06. Mine is an old Eddystone Enfield that I acquired for $70.00 thirty one years ago. It still had the military stock and cosmoline in the bolt. Long story short, I had it sporterized and it's been a remarkably reliable and accurate rifle--assuming that I fire heavier bullets at moderate velocities. I've settled on 180 grain Nosler Partitions at about 2300 fps and the rifle will do the rest.

About five years ago, a gentleman in our community passed away. His daughters asked if I would help appraise his firearms collection for the estate sale. I did my best, and told his older daughter that, of his collection, there was one in particular that I would like to buy.

They sold me his 1950 Winchester Model 70, chamber in .270, for $300.00 below my suggested appraised value as a "thank-you" for helping them with the appraisals.

I gave it a good cleaning, and bought a box of the only ammunition our local sporting goods store (actually a pawn shop/state liquor store with a few guns in the mix) had on the shelf: 130 grain Federal Fusion.

They grouped beautifully, and I've never looked to improve upon them.

According to the box, these are traveling close to 3100 fps at the muzzle. Not surprisingly, I've never recovered a bullet until this fall, as all of my shots have been standing broadside on deer and antelope and they just pass through.

Earlier this fall, I took both an antelope buck and a mulie doe with this rifle in northcentral Montana. Both shots standing broadside; both bullets passed through.

This past Sunday evening I had the opportunity to take a solid 3 1/2 year old whitetail buck close to home. This guy was slinking into a meadow that I was sitting on. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, found him in my scope and took the only shot he was presenting--straight on at 73 yards.

He dropped like a stone. This was remarkable, as I learned when I field dressed him that I only hit one lung and three ribs. The bullet hit him just right of center in the lower neck and came to rest under his hide on the far side, just in front of the diaphragm. I'm estimating that the penetration of the bullet was between 26 and 28 inches. I'm assuming that absorbing the full energy of the bullet (as opposed to having much of that energy carried past the creature when the bullet exits) resulted in the instant death of this deer.

I found that the bullet retained 82 percent of it's mass (106.5 grains) and expanded to 215 percent of it's initial diameter (.595 inches.) I've attached pics.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on this. However, I'll confess that my ol' aught-six isn't seeing much time in the field since the .270 came home. ;-)

We don't speak openly of that caliber; the manly men feel threatened.
Good work on the buck!

Awesome! That’s a very nice buck!

That old model 70 is a vast improvement over your enfield in pretty much all aspects.
I had an enfield when I was a youngster and it was for sure a solid firearm, but heavy and cumbersome.

I bought a .270 in about 1969 and never looked back.
Try some Hornady Whitetail 130gr loads, too. They will impress!

I’ve not shot the Fusion out of my .270, but I have killed several elk with the 6.5cm and the 140gr Fusion.
All were one shot kills and I’ve yet to recover a bullet. I think highly of them, too!

Ya gotta love the 270!

Nice buck!

What is the deal with the knot on his hind leg?

Good eye!

I'm guessing he broke that ankle some time back. It's completely calcified. By the way, the blood on it was from field dressing--the wound was completely healed.

Dang, you have to respect those critters surviving some serious injuries without the aid of a vet and trying to keep from being eaten by predators while they heal.

Thanks for posting that!

That's a good lookin' buck, K_P!

IMO, it is likely that you hit close enough to the neck bone that the shot "short circuited" the animal's nervous system causing it to drop....and then it bled out from the damage done in the chest cavity. A 270 is about as good as it gets for deer but it was more about where you hit it than what you hit it with.....just like always.

Nice buck!

.270? Good.....
Fusions? Good....
Shot placement? Good....

Good job, I have a couple 270’s. Great round!

Looks like good performance from that bullet. Those old Winchesters are good rifles. Nice buck also.

I love the federal fusions.

Great buck. Congrats.

Outstanding deer. That is a nice one anywhere. Good that you took him close to home.
NVHunter was spot on when it comes to talking about the 270. My old hunting buddy (71 years old) came back from Viet Nam in 69 and wanted to go deer hunting with some of his old friends in South TX where he lived. He went to Sears, somewhere in TX and purchased a Ted Williams 270(Winchester Made model 70) and some ammo. That is the only rifle they had on the rack at that time he said. He said it didn't cost much because they were trying to move it and get some 30-06 rifles in for sale.
Fast forward to 2014. I put him in every year for a Elk Hunt draw at the Wichita Wildlife Management unit in SW Oklahoma in the Wichita Mountains. It is a once in a lifetime hunt and I had been putting him in for 20 some years. I drew in 2008. He drew a bull tag, which you only have 3 days to hunt and are only allowed 5 shells on your person per day when you are dropped off at your choice of hunting area.They check a lot of people right before going in each morning to make sure of the ammo restriction. My buddy was getting all kinds of flack from his older friends at the Moose Lodge and some of his in-laws telling him he could never take an elk with that caliber. Needed a 300 Win Mag or some outrageous monster of a rifle. He is only 5'6" and weighs 140 lb soaking wet. He loves his 270 and I told him we would come up with a round either factory or hand loaded ammo that would take any Elk walking. I load a lot of ammo and started with the 140grn Bulk Core Lok bullets I had bought for another 270 rifle. We started shooting this round out to 200 yards which is all our range is. I had him shooting from a pack, off of shooting sticks and prone to get him used to the positions he might encounter in the mountains where he would be hunting and with a heavy coat because he would be hunting in Dec. With all of that said I kept telling him, 100 yards or less, put it in the shoulders and break him down and don't stop shooting until he is down and save one round of the five if he tries to get up. Hah. Over 100 yds behind the should for lungs or heart, maybe both. He get's the shakes bad when hunting Whitetail and antelope which I have taken him on hunting for them before. You don't get any hunting partners on this hunt. You can group up with another hunter if they are in your area but you can get your buddies to help after you take the elk.
First morning it was bad fog and I told him before he loaded in the pick up for drop off in his area, get out, set down out of the wind and wait for the fog to burn off. Don't walk around and break a leg or fall and trash your rifle. He did, and when the fog lifted, he was looking at a herd of elk, some buffalo and whitetail moving towards a pond. He picked out the lead bull and put one round in the shoulders at about 110 yards. The bull dropped on the spot. Sorry this is so long but I have seen this from several .270's in the last few years while loading for them. They are great rounds. I even got me a Encore MGM 270 15" pistol barrel to hunt with.
Mike

Nice story, McClura. Very cool that your friend got a "bull of a lifetime," and that you played a part in making it happen.

KP

I’m a fan of the 270 and have had good results in the few rifles I’ve tried the federal Fusion in. Congrats on a dandy buck!

Kootenai: Outstanding performance there with the 270!
The caliber, the bullet, the Rifle and YOU all performed exceptionally well.
I took my Whitetail Buck here in SW Montana with one shot from my 270 several days ago. I could not have been happier with my results as well.
I have been using Nosler 130 grain Ballistic Tips in my Rifle for several years now and the mushroom effect (size you obtained!) was better than the couple of slugs I have retrieved
I concentrate on heart/lung shots (avoiding shoulders like the plague!) so I don't to often retrieve my Ballistic Tips. They usually pass through on Deer and Antelope - but they impart an amazing amount of energy (destruction) in doing so.
Thanks for sharing.
Great picture by the way.
Out of curiosity what scope do you have on your 270?
Congratulations to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have the Nikon Prostaff in the 3x9x40 with a BDC reticle. It's a great scope for longer shots on the prairie. It was waaaaay more than I needed for this 73 yard poke.

Good shootin. My main elk rig is a model 700 .270 Win. I gave up the .30 cal magnums years ago.

My brother shot his first deer last year, with a 270 using Winchester Ballistic Silvertips. Ripped the whole chest cavity open. Wish I could get the photo on here

The .270 does just fine for deer .... My wife carries one every year.



-Jake